Something To Remember: Rob Worley talks "Tales Of A Forgotten Planet"

Long-time CBR readers will no doubt remember writer Rob Worley, whose popular Comics2Film column was a CBR News staple, till he went on to pursue other endeavors (and allowed Hannibal Tabu to bring you the daily Comic Reel Wrap). Comic book fans may also remember his "Young Ancient One" story in Marvel Comics' "Epic Anthology," a story quite warmly received by fans. He's even got a project at 360EP entitled "Advent Rising." Not one to ever rest, Worley has now teamed up with Narwain Comics, and some popular creators, to bring readers "Tales From A Forgotten Planet #2." While Narwain issued a press release (see below), Worley stopped by his old home to give CBR News a few exclusive comments, including talking about how the project all began.

"One of the cool things that Narwain brings to the table is access to a global comics market, and that allows them to experiment with a diverse line of comics that touch or cross genres," explained Worley. ""Tales from a Forgotten Planet" gives readers a lot of bang for the buck, with four stories in each issue coming from some very talented people.

"I'm excited about issue #2 because I'm in some great company, with the likes of Christoper Long, Shannon Denton, Moreno Burattini and Jesus Barony. Of course I'm most psyched to work with my friend Andy Kuhn again.

"Andy and I have been looking for projects to team up on for over a year. When I came up with the story "Crunch Time" it was specifically with Andy in mind. I'm a huge "Firebreather" fan and I know people love seeing Andy draw big monsters as much as Andy loves drawing them."

Worley also is happy to tease his story in the "Forgotten Planet" anthology, saying, ""Crunch Time" is an examination of the psychological motivation behind the kind of mass violence that can occur when a whole people lack empathy for...Ah, who am I kidding? A giant monster lands in Times Square during the lunch rush, smashes stuff, eats people by the fistful and fights the MAN! Drawn by Kuhn! What's more fun than that?"

Below is the official press release:

Rising Stars Shine on "Forgotten Planet"

Anthologies are back and Narwain's got 'em. Following the tradition of our flagship title "Brian Yuzna's Horrorama" comes the science fiction collection "Tales from a Forgotten Planet" and the second issue features a lineup of comics' rising stars.

Comics creators such as Andy Kuhn ("Firebreather"), Christopher E. Long ("X-Men Unlimited"), Shannon Eric Denton ("Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi") and Rob Worley ("Advent Rising: Rock the Planet") present a line up of stories that evoke everything from "Tales to Astonish" to "Twilight Zone" and "2001: A Space Odyssey".

Andy Kuhn and Rob Worley, who last teamed on Marvel's "Young Ancient One", have crafted a tale of city-stomping havoc in "Crunch Time".

"We're both big fans of Jack Kirby's monsters," said Worley. "Let's just say this story play's to some of Andy's strengths."

Adds Kuhn, "It's always an awesome time when I get to draw big monsters crushing the hell out of stuff!"

"I find it fascinating that themes echoed in the works of Isaac Asimov, Charles Beaumont, and Rod Sterling from the '40s and '50s are issues being addressed today in the scientific community," said Long who wowed readers with last year's "Easy Way" series. "My story pays homage to these masters of sci-fi."

Shannon Eric Denton, who recently scored raves in Entertainment Weekly's review of "Common Foe", pens a generations-spanning story that's as heartfelt as it is epic in "Flying."

"As a boy, my father, a Naval aviator, picked up some of the returning astronauts and ever since greeting them on their return I've been fascinated with what lies beyond," said Denton. "I think it's great Narwain is embracing sci-fi and giving readers new worlds to wonder about."

Narwain veterans Moreno Burattini, Toms Morn, Luca Panciroli and Jesus Barony join the foursome on what is certain to be a breakout issue.

"Tales from a Forgotten Planet #2" is 48 black and white pages and retails for $6.49 USD. You'll find it on page 298 of the January Diamond Previews catalog.